Labyrinth
by xoxOdile
Summary: When the Goblin King Inuyasha takes away Kagome's little brother, she must travel through the Labyrinth to retrieve him. But in the Labyrinth, nothing is quite what it seems. AU
1. Prologue

**Labyrinth**

Prologue

(Disclaimer – Inuyasha and all related characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The storyline to Labyrinth is the property of its creators.)

_The Labyrinth. The legendary maze, home to magical beings such as goblins and fey, and the Goblin King himself. The beautiful young princess had battled her way through it, and now stood in the castle in the center, preparing to confront the evil King._

_"Give me the child," she said, her voice strong and determined. She would not bow down to this man, for she was as strong as he was, and possibly more so._

_"Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered,_

_I have fought my way here to the castle beyond Goblin City,_

_To take back the child that you have stolen._

_For my will is as strong as yours,_

_And my Kingdom as great."_

"'For my will is as strong as yours, and my Kingdom as great.'"

A young woman now muttered the words, chewing her bottom lip as she thought carefully. Her long raven hair had been sloppily pinned back, and a crown of twigs placed on top. The dress she wore proved to be just an old Halloween costume, slightly small on her. Her creamy skin shimmered with a light mist, a result of the early drizzle from earlier, and blue-grey eyes sparkled with suppressed stories and fairy-tales just itching to be let out.

"Damn. I can never remember that line."

Lifting up the skirt of her dress, she reached into the pocket of the jeans that she wore underneath, and pulled out a small, red book. "'You have no power over me.'"

Sighing in frustration, the girl looked back at the "Goblin King", better known as her excessively obese cat Buyo.

"Maaoow…" he whined, trying to stretch his legs out but falling over instead.

"Oh, Buyo," she said, laughter in her voice. Her sneakers slapped against the clean courtyard ground as she jogged over to the cat, bending down to rub his tummy, and receiving a thankful yowl in response.

"Kagome!"

The girl quickly got up and looked back at the sliding doors to her home, spotting the source of the womanly voice.

"Yeah? What is it mom?"

"Your grandfather and I are going out now. I need you to come inside and watch Souta."

Kagome groaned. The least she wanted to do right now was baby-sit her annoying little brother.

"Do I have to?" she complained, her twig crown slipping sideways over her head. "He's just gonna play video games the whole time anyways…"

Mrs. Higurashi responded in her no-nonsense voice, erasing all thoughts of liberty (in the form of going to the movies with friends) while she was out. "Now, dear, you've been promising to do this for a while."

Kagome felt her temper slowly rise. "But what if I had plans? What about that?"

"Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi placed her hands on her hips, eyeing her rebellious daughter who still hadn't moved an inch. With a weary sigh, she wiped her hands on her apron and walked over, placing a hand on Kagome's cheek. "I'd love it if you had a date. Most girls your age should be going out. What about the Hojo boy? He seems nice…"

Kagome shrugged her mother's hand away angrily. She was changing the subject again. But knowing her mother, she wasn't going to be able to get a straight answer out of her. Kind and motherly the woman may be, but she had a will of steel.

"Hojo's not my type," she muttered as she brushed past her mother and inside her home. Souta, who'd heard everything, barely glanced up from his video game as Kagome flopped onto the couch, crossing her arms in front of her chest impetuously.

"So…" he said, filling in the silence between them. The video game beeped and tooted as he made it to the next level. "Who is your type then?"

"Ugh!" Kagome yelled, and walloped her brother with a nearby pillow. Souta was in hysterics. Walking over to the TV before he could protest, she yanked the cord out, and smirked at him.

"Hey…!" he yelled as she stomped up the stairs. "I was on level 29!"

Kagome slammed her bedroom door, listening smugly as Souta complained to their mother, only to have her chastise him for annoying his older sister.

"Besides, you can't stay on that thing all night."

"But mom!"

With a short, humourless laugh, Kagome flopped onto her bed, letting the mattress bounce a couple of times before coming to a stop. She screamed frustrated into her pillow, using it as a muffler so the rest of her family wouldn't hear her. When she was finished, she breathed in her own aroma, silently counting backwards from ten.

_10…9…8…_

Someone was coming up the stairs. Their footsteps were muffled through the door, but even then she could make out her mother's light pace.

…_7…6…_

There was a pause when she reached the top steps, as if she was trying to hear Kagome from the stairway and tell what she was doing. Kagome stayed silent.

…_5…4…_

With a sigh, her mother walked up the rest of the steps, then paused outside her door, still trying to hear her daughter inside.

…_3…2…1._

-KNOCK KNOCK-

"Kagome? Are you in there?"

Kagome was half tempted to yell "No, I'm not! Leave me alone!", but thought better of it. She didn't need to cause her mother too much grief on her night out.

"…yeah."

"Can I come in?"

"…if you want."

Kagome, now facing the wall on the other side of her bed, heard the door open, then her mother's weary sigh.

"Kagome, please don't be like this…"

Kagome said nothing.

"Well… your grandfather and I are going out. Remember, Souta is to be in bed by 8:30. Don't stay up too late."

There was a click of her door closing, then the sounds of her mother retreating downstairs. A brief goodbye to Souta, the door opening then closing, then a car starting up, and pulling away from the Shrine. Then silence.

"Kagomeeee!"

Well, maybe not so silent. Kagome buried her head in her pillow again, in hopes that maybe her brother would forget about her and go to bed on his own. No such luck.

The door to her bedroom flew open, and Souta ran in, jumping on his prone sister.

"Ugh… Souta! You weigh more that Buyo does!"

She received a pillow in the face for that comment.

"Sis, can you tell me a story? Pleeeeeeeaaaaase?"

Kagome rolled her eyes, shoving Souta off her stomach.

"No," she said simply, and then flopped back over. Her hair had half fallen out of its loose bun, and the twig crown was painfully tangled in it.

"Please? I promise not to bug you about your boyfriends… for now."

At least he was honest. "Will you brush your teeth and get ready for bed right now?"

Souta considered for a moment, his face screwed up in thought. Finally, he reluctantly agreed. Kagome ushered him out of her room, shutting the door behind him, then turned to her vanity lined against the wall across her bed. It was cluttered with items from makeup to labyrinth memorabilia, such as a picture of Escher's "Labyrinth", and a small wooden maze with knobs on the side, and a little marble that you have to get through.

After a long few minutes of painful hair tugging and muffled profanity, Kagome managed to wrestle the twig crown out of her hair, and brush it until it was glossy again. She lay her hairbrush down, then smiled at the music box she'd laid it next to. It was a glass prism with five sides, showing five different views of the small doll inside.

Picking up the music box, Kagome wound the key at the bottom, then watched as the doll turned with the tinkling music. The doll wore a lacy white dress, similar to a wedding dress, and decorations in her hair. It was one of the prettiest things Kagome owned.

"Sis?"

Her door creaked open, and Souta cautiously popped his face inside. He was wearing his rocket pajamas, and nervously fidgeted with his fingers while he waited for her. With a smile, Kagome followed him back into his room, shutting of the light in her own as she did so.

After tucking him in, Kagome kneeled on the floor next to his bed, scratching at the blue comforter as she thought of inspiration. The Labyrinth was her favourite story, but she'd told it so many times that he'd gotten sick of it. Kagome wanted to think of something completely original this time. Then it hit her.

"Once upon a time," she began, ignoring Souta's groan at the cheesy beginning. "There was a beautiful young girl. She lived with her family in feudal Japan, many years ago. Her mother always made her stay home and watch after her younger brother when she went out, which meant the girl had no time to herself. The brother could be a spoilt little child, never helping out and always playing games, which meant that the girl had to do all the chores herself. She was practically a slave!

"But what no one knew was that the Goblin King was really in love with the girl, and had given her special powers. So one night, when the brother had been particularly cruel to her, she turned to the goblins for help.

"'Say the right words,' the goblins said. 'And we'll take the boy away with us, and you can be free.' Ah! But the girl knew that the Goblin King would keep the boy in his castle forever and ever, and turn him into a goblin. So she held her mouth. But one night, when the girl was tired from housework, and hurt by her mother's ignorance, she could stand it no longer."

"Yeah? Keep going!"

Kagome glowered at her younger brother. So much for taking a break! "I want to get a glass of water!"

"You can get a glass of water after you finished the story."

With a flourish, Kagome stood up, arms outstretched and eyes flashing. Her voice thundered as she cried, "Goblin King! Goblin King! Wherever you may be! Take this child of mine away from me!"

There was a bright flash of lightening and a crash of thunder right at that point, and the lights went out. It took a few minutes for Kagome's eyes to register to the dark, but when they did she felt rather foolish for what she did.

"I'm gonna get a drink now, alright Souta?"

"Yeah… whatever… just hurry back."

Kagome bit her lip to hold back in the snarl, and walked briskly to the door. It took a minute to find the door handle, then she swung it open and stepped into the dark hallway, letting the door click sharply behind her. She leaned against the wood, feeling her temper slowly rise. Spreading her fingers against the doorway, she tilted her head to the left, her mouth near the crack of the door.

"I wish the goblins _would _come take you away… right now."

Then she rose off the doorway, and walked downstairs for a drink. If she'd stayed, maybe she would have heard the insane giggling coming from inside, followed by the sounds of a man chuckling.

"_As you wish."_

xox

A/N: There you go. My first fanfic in... a long time. ; Ah, well, hope you enjoyed. Hopefully I'll get chapter one up in a couple of days. Until then, tell me what you think.

-Chiquitita


	2. the Goblin King

**Labyrinth**

Chapter One: the Goblin King

-Disclaimer – Inuyasha and all related characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The storyline to Labyrinth is the property of its creators.-

Sometimes he liked to think about how he'd gotten here, how he'd become the infamous King of the Goblins, Lord of the Labyrinth. Part of it had something to do with his father being the Lord of the Underground, feared by demon, human, fey, goblins, and all creatures alike. Lord InuTaisho, the dog demon, who's title fell into the hands of his first son Sesshomaru.

The greatest demon the Underground had ever known, who fell in love with a human. The Aboveground Princess Izayoi had somehow captured InuTaisho's heart, and he hers. But when he fathered another son, his loyal followers became outraged.

Not only was the boy a bastard, but he wasn't even fully human, let alone full _demon. _He could never be accepted. So InuTaisho was forced into a heartbreaking decision; to banish one of his sons, or lost both.

And so Inuyasha, at mere infancy, was banished to the Labyrinth; an unruly Kingdom full of goblins worse. His mother took care of him, nursing him until she became deathly ill, and passed away.

Years had gone by. Seventeen, specifically. Inuyasha was the youngest King the Labyrinth had, and to top it all off, he wasn't even a Goblin! A young, half-demon King of the most disorderly kingdom in all the Underground. As if his life wasn't bad enough.

Then, just last year, his father had passed away, and in his will left Inuyasha a sword so powerful, it could kill 100 demons in a single blow. The Tessaiga.

Sesshomaru, who'd been left with the Tenseiga (a sword that could resurrect 100 humans in a single swipe), had vowed revenge on Inuyasha. He wanted the Tessaiga, and was incredibly insulted when his father left the sword with his younger, _half-demon_ brother.

So now, our lovable Goblin King had his brother constantly at his neck, intent on Inuyasha's death so that the sword would pass into his own hands.

_It's not like the stupid thing works anyways…_

When he received this so-called sword of "immense power", all it was was a rusty old piece of metal. And no matter what he did, it remained to be a rusty old piece of metal.

It was one day, while he was resting in his Castle overlooking Goblin City, when he heard her. She had a lovely, soft voice, much like his mother's. It sounded like she was telling a story. Inuyasha felt a warm pulse against his chest, and reached a clawed hand inside his fire-rat robe to find what caused it. It was small, round crystal ball, or more specifically _his _crystal ball. A faint image showed through, and he watched in fascination as the shape of a beautiful woman showed through. Raven black hair, sparkling grey-blue eyes, and soft pale skin. Captivated by this human, Inuyasha began to listen.

_"…but what no one knew was that the Goblin King was really in love with the girl."_

Goblin King? Now hold on a second… _He _was the Goblin King. What would she know about him? He wasn't in love with anyone.

_Maybe she's thinking of someone else._

But even as he thought it, Inuyasha dismissed the idea. There was only one Goblin King, and that was him. As he mulled on this thought, Inuyasha could hear her voice rise with anger. His interest caught again, he peered back into the crystal ball to watch what was happening.

"_Goblin King! Goblin King! Wherever you may be! Take this child of mine away from me!"_

Inuyasha had to hold back a laugh. Did she really think that old rubbish was going to work? If she wanted him to take the kid away, she just needed to wish for it. None of that rhyming crap. As he chuckled over this, he could make out the sound of a door clicking shut, then a whispered plea.

"_I wish the goblins _would_ come take you away… right now."_

Inuyasha grinned, slightly surprised. This should be interesting.

xox

Kagome stood in her dark kitchen, a cup of water in one hand, the counter clutched in the other. How silly she was to let her little brother see an outburst like that. He was probably in fits of laughter over it right now.

Pursing her lips, Kagome looking down, then realized she was still wearing the white dress from earlier. With a snort, she pulled it over her head, revealing a simple, long-sleeved shirt underneath.

_Well, I suppose it's time to go back up now,_ she thought, draining the rest of her water and grabbing a flashlight from the table. With a determined look on her face, she marched up the stairs, tossing her dress into her bedroom on the way, and walked back into her brother's room. She was greeted with insane giggling.

Rolling her eyes, Kagome sat on the edge of his bed, poking her brother's foot through the blanket.

"Ok, Souta, I'm back now. You can stop laughing."

Souta fell silent. With a smile, Kagome continued. "Now, would you like me to continue with the story? Or do you want to go to sleep?"

Silence.

"Souta, don't ignore me. I'm talking to you."

More silence.

"Souta, I'm serious now! I heard you giggling before, so I know you're not sleeping. What's wrong?"

Greeted with even more silence, Kagome began to panic. Why wasn't her brother answering her? What was wrong with him?

His shape underneath the bed shifted suddenly, too suddenly. Narrowing her eyes, Kagome slowly leaned forward, her hand reached to the top of his blanket. Souta's form twitched a couple more times, then fell still.

Slim fingers grasped the tip of his blanket, and suddenly yanked it back. Where Kagome's little brother once rested, now was nothing.

Kagome saw something move out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to look it was gone. There was a sound from behind her, as if someone had opened Souta's dresser drawer then closed it really fast when she spun around. It happened a few more times, confusing the poor girl to no end.

A brilliant flash of lightening illuminated the room for a brief second, and the windows flew open. Wind and rain poured in, and Kagome briefly covered her face as to not get wet. When she removed her arms, someone stood at the window.

Kagome had never seen someone more handsome or intimidating. His long silver hair reached just above his buttocks, and he had beautiful amber eyes that seemed to pierce your soul. Talons adorned his hands instead of fingernails, and atop his head were… doggy ears?

For a moment, Kagome completely forgot that her brother was missing in the middle of a blackout and a strange man had seemingly blown through the window. All she wanted to do was touch those adorable dog ears. Fortunately, she managed to control her urges.

"Who… who are you?" she asked, her brow narrowing. The man smirked.

"You were the one who called me, wench, you should know."

The nerve! The nerve of him to enter her house just like that and start calling her a wench. Kagome felt steam coming out of her ears.

"Called you? I never called you! I don't even know who you are!"

The man's eyebrows arched up, and he walked closer to her. Kagome felt like taking a few steps back, but at the moment was too riled up to do so.

"'Goblin King! Goblin King! Wherever you may be! Take this child of mine away from me!'" he mimicked, closing in on her until they were only inches apart. He towered over her, a fact that intimidated her more than she would show. She'd always been on the smaller side for her age.

Kagome felt her face pale. "You… _you're _the Goblin King?" she stuttered, finding it hard to believe that the evil King of the Goblins had dog ears.

_Or such a good physique…_

Kagome was glad for the darkness that hid her blush. Luckily, he seemed a little too insulted to notice.

"Of course I am! Who were you expecting… David Bowie?"

"Well, sort of…" Kagome admitted sheepishly. The man rolled his eyes.

"I am Inuyasha, King of the Goblins of the Underground Labyrinth," he said, his voice rising a few octaves as he spoke. "You wished your brother away, and I answered your request. Now I believe I shall be going."

Inuyasha turned to leave, when he felt a hand tug on the sleeve of his shirt.

"Wait!" Kagome cried. When he turned to face her, she gulped down her pride, and forced out, "I'd like my brother back, please."

Inuyasha snorted. "What's said is said. You cannot reverse it. In thirteen hours, your brother will turn into a goblin, and live in the Labyrinth with the others."

"I didn't mean it! You have to return him! Please…"

"Kagome…" he faced her again. Kagome never questioned how he knew her name. "Go back. Play with your toys and your costumes… and forget your brother."

"I can't!" Kagome tightened her grip on his shirt to try and persuade him. "Please, Inuyasha, give me my brother back."

Inuyasha smirked again, slipping his hand into his robe and pulling something out. "I have a gift for you."

Confused, Kagome narrowed her eyes. "What is it?"

Opening his palm, Inuyasha revealed a small crystal, the size of a marble, luminous with its own light. Entranced, Kagome reached for the crystal, only to have him pull it away from her. "It's a jewel. The Shikon Jewel. And it's all yours if you forget about him."

Biting her lip, Kagome pushed his hand away. "I don't want your jewel if I can't have my brother."

The Goblin King, surprised, smiled slightly. "I admire your determination. Your brother is in my castle, back there. Are you sure you still want him?"

Resolute, Kagome nodded. With a grin, he grabbed her hand and pulled her with him through the window.

Kagome gasped. Instead of seeing the rain-soaked grounds of her family Shrine, she saw a maze; a large, twisting intricate maze of paths and dead ends.

"'Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered…'" whispered Kagome, in awe. The faint silhouette of a castle could be made out from her vantage point. When she turned around to look back at her house, it was gone. Instead, she saw Inuyasha standing with that infuriatingly smug grin still on his face. One of his fangs, she noticed, poked over his bottom lip.

_He has fangs… _she thought. _I wonder what it would be like to kiss him._

Face burning, Kagome quickly wiped that fleeting thought from her mind and looked back towards the Labyrinth.

"Is that the castle beyond the goblin city?" she asked, one finger extended in that direction. Inuyasha didn't directly answer.

"It's farther than it looks. Turn back now while you still have time."

"It doesn't look _that _far," scoffed Kagome.

Inuyasha's face became serious. "Remember, in the Labyrinth, nothing is what it seems."

Kagome sighed. She needed to do this. She needed to get her brother back… no matter how far she had to go. "You don't understand," she said quietly. "I need to get my brother back."

With an exasperated groan, Inuyasha gave in. "Fine, wench! You have 13 hours before your brother becomes a goblin. 13!"

Just as Kagome was about to angrily confront him about the whole "wench" business, Inuyasha disappeared. Kagome huffed. "You coward!" she yelled into the sky, knowing that he probably hadn't heard her anyways.

Kagome looked back at the Labyrinth. Surely it wasn't _that _hard.

"Well, come on feet, let's get going."

xox

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! Here's my next chapter extra early. ) I have a new policy that I don't post a chapter before I write the next one, so you can expect chapter 2 within the next few days if I have time. Here's the review responses:

**Tanwen Whitefire**-- You're like, my very own fan! Thank you so much for the review. Unfortunately, a lot of the chaps in this story will be cliffies. So just hang in there, no pun intended. P

**Megumi15-- **Thank you for the honour. I have to say, this is probably my best fanfic so far.

**Neko the cat hanyou-- **You may think I'm weird for this, but I want to thank you for telling me what you think of my fic. Just because you speak your mind doesn't mean you're a critic, and I don't think of you as one. And about the whole Inuyasha/Labyrinth thing; I wanted to try something original. Some characters may be a little OOC, since I _do _have to squish them into character, but most stay the same. But I'm sorry to say that I've already started this fic, and I am having fun writing it, soI won't stop until it's done.

**Esk-- **Well, thanks! I did like the movie, even if the acting wasn't top noch, and the effects were a little cheesy... but the storyline is still really good, and I love the character development. You may find the replacements for the other characters as a bit of a surprise, but then again maybe not. It's a lot of fun, and don't worry, I won't be throwing this story away any time soon. And thanks for the compliments! The Buyo/Merlin thing was a bit of my own creativeness.

**Kate-- **If your definition of soon is the day after I've posted the Prologue, then you got your wish. ;) I hope this story will turn out well, but remember, I am mainly a romance writer, and this fic will probably have more romance instead of adventure, but I'll try and even it out. I do have a twist ending in store for you. I'm not quite sure if I want Inuyasha to turn into an owl... it's not very Inuyasha-like, but it does fit Jareth's personality. Maybe I'll take a vote.

**Inuyasha's Babygurl Luna--** Heh, I thought it was a pretty good idea too. I'm glad that someone else sees it the same way. You know, I wasn't really thinking of the hair thing between Inuyasha and Jareth, but thanks for pointing that out. That's really interesting!

**Rose-- **It's a pretty cute movie. I noticed that a lot of people who read this story do like the movie, and I'm glad. Didja catch the little Davie Bowie pun I inserted there, when Inuyasha was talking to Kagome? ;) Actually, I made an extra point of being very detailed in my stories. I want to improve, and I've noticed that my other fanfics are lacking. Thanks for noticing! D

And for all of you who didn't get the David Bowie pun, David Bowie is an older singer who played Jareth (the Goblin King), in the movie. That doesn't mean that the movie exists in this story, it was just something that Inuyasha said from the top of his head. Just because he lives Underground doesn't mean he's not keeping with the times! P

If you liked or didn't like this chapter, I'd be happy to hear your comments. But remember, there's a difference between stating how you feel and flaming.

-Chiquitita


	3. Into the Labyrinth

**Labyrinth**

Chapter Two: Into the Labyrinth

Disclaimer – Inuyasha and all related characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The storyline to Labyrinth is the property of its creators.

"54… 55…"

A small, kitsune child sighed angrily to himself, rubbing a paw over his face. In his other paw he held a can of "Fairy-be-gone!"; Fey repellant. That was his job; to kill all the Labyrinth faeries, since they ate the important lichen that protected and strengthened the walls of the Labyrinth.

"Stupid creatures," he muttered to himself. "Can't even decide on one spelling of their names."

It was at that moment that Kagome had come skipping down the hill. The kitsune didn't even eye her twice, but sprayed yet another fairy.

Kagome was faced with a problem. How did she get inside the Labyrinth? As far as she could see from side to side, it was stone wall.

_Maybe I could climb over it?_

Kagome erased that thought quickly, noticing the ugly lichen that grew on the wall. Green, slimy, and… alive, with eyeballs on the end of their stalks. Plus there appeared to be no cracks or holes where she could place her feet.

"…56…"

Kagome looked around for the small voice, then found it's source somewhere near her feet. It was a little boy, with ginger-red hair, bright green eyes, and a poofy fox tail. She fell in love instantly.

"Aww… aren't you the sweetest little goblin ever?" she cooed, bending down to pick him up. He struggled in her arms to get away.

"Lemme go! I'm not a goblin, you idiot!"

Kagome blinked, dropping the little fox child and eyeing him suspiciously. "Who are you then?"

The boy puffed up his chest, and stretched to his full height (which barely came up to Kagome's knees). "My name's Shippo, and I'm a demon."

Kagome felt her eyebrows float up at his claim. "A demon? I didn't know that there were any demons in the Labyrinth…"

"Sure there are! You know Inuyasha, don't you?"

"Inuyasha's a demon? He said he was the Goblin King."

"Well… he's a half-demon, but it's almost the same thing…"

Kagome had lost Shippo at the words "half-demon". _Well it does explain his ears, _she thought. Wondering out loud, Kagome murmured, "I thought he was a goblin…"

Shippo started laughing. "Inuyasha? A goblin? Just because he's the Goblin King doesn't mean he's a goblin himself."

Feeling humiliated, Kagome studied the Labyrinth wall, searching for any way inside. A flutter caught her eye, and Kagome found her attention caught by a little fairy flittering across the Labyrinth wall. "How sweet…"

"Aha! 57!" Shippo yelled, spraying the fairy. Kagome gasped in horror.

"How could you? The poor thing…" she gathered the little fairy in her hand, then turned to chastise Shippo angrily. A sharp pain in her palm halted her actions, and she quickly dropped the little creature. "Ow! It bit me!"

Shippo snorted, his eyes on a different fairy, a little too high for him to reach. The fairy appeared to be taunting him, but it was hard to tell. "What did you expect for it to do?"

"I thought they did nice things… like granting wishes…"

"And you also thought that Inuyasha was a goblin. Goes to show what you know. 58!"

Kagome sighed, about to turn around and leave when she remembered she had no way of going home. Or getting into the Labyrinth. "Shippo?" she asked sweetly.

"59… Yeah, what is it?"

"Do you know where the door to the Labyrinth is?"

"Maybe."

"Well then, where is it?"

A particularly angry fairy bit Shippo on the thumb. "You little… 60!"

"I said where is it?"

"Where is what?" Shippo asked without turning around.

"The door!"

"What door?"

"The door to the… oh never mind. It's hopeless." Kagome sat back on the ground, propping her chin with her hand.

"Not if you ask the right questions," said Shippo, still fairy hunting.

Kagome thought for a moment. "How do I get into the Labyrinth?"

This time, Shippo turned around and smiled at her. "Now that's more like it! You get in through there." One of his small fingers pointed to a huge steel gate, locked and bolted shut. It was imbedded into the wall, so Kagome had not been able to see it once she got up close. The kitsune was watching her now, curious as to what she was going to do. "You're really going in there, aren't you?"

"I have to get my brother," was Kagome's only answer as she marched up to the doors, and pushed them open. They swung open easily enough, making Kagome smile in triumph. This wasn't so hard after…

Oh. She was faced with a wall. To the right, there was a long stretching path of nothing. And to the left, was a long stretching path of nothing.

"Great," muttered Kagome, deciding to go right.

Nearly half an hour later, Kagome had still been walking, and nothing changed. It was _still _a long stretching path of nothing, except that now the damp ground was littered with branches and pieces of rotten wood.

"What do they mean, 'Labyrinth'? It just goes on and on… no corners or anything!"

"'Allo!"

For the second time that day, Kagome found herself looking down to find the source of the mysterious voice. A little, blue worm wearing a green scarf and hat looked back up at her.

"Did you say hello?"

"No, I said 'allo, but that's close enough," said the worm, its British accent quite strong. Kagome felt ridiculous talking to a worm, but right now he was all she had.

"Do you know the way through this Labyrinth?" she asked, hopeful.

"No, I'm just a worm."

"Oh." Angry, Kagome kicked a nearby rock on the ground. "I have to solve it. But there are no turns or openings! It just keeps going to no end."

The worm smiled, as much as a worm can. "Sure it's full of openings. You just ain't seeing 'em."

"Where are they, then?" asked Kagome, doubtful.

"Take that one right behind you."

Kagome spun around, and was faced with more wall. There wasn't even a crack. "There's no opening here."

"Of course there is! Try walking through it."

The girl eyed the worm as if it was mad. "What?"

"Go on," the worm urged.

"But this is just wall. There's no way through."

"Things aren't always what they seem here," the worm said, echoing Inuyasha's words from earlier. "You can't take anything for granted."

Arms outstretched in front of her (and feeling incredibly stupid for attempting to walk through a wall), Kagome slowly stepped forward. Closer and closer she got, and her hands hit nothing. Then, she was through! The opening had been carefully camouflaged so that it looked like wall, but when it really wasn't.

"Hey!" she cried happily, spinning around to face the worm. "Thank you!" She turned to go left, but the worms warning stopped her.

"Don't go that way!" it cried. Kagome grinned, and then started off in the opposite direction.

"Thanks again!" she called out.

"If she'd gone that way," said the worm once Kagome was out of earshot. "She'd have gone straight to the castle."

Kagome was now faced with a different kind of maze. This one had lots of turns and openings, and strange sculptures and statues to go with it. Pulling out her lipstick from her jeans pocket, she carefully marked an arrow on one of the stone tiles that made up the ground, pointing to the direction she came from. As she pondered which way to go, the tile was quickly flipped up and over by small creatures living underneath.

Kagome looked down, noticing that her bright red arrow was now gone.

"Oh no… someone has been changing my marks!" she cried, her previously happy mood now gone. "How unfair!"

There was laughter following her statement. "That's right! It's not fair."

The voice that spoke proved to be one of two heads on a large, blue Ace card. The other was on the bottom, where the legs where. At least, she thought it was the bottom, since the arms on top looked exactly the same as the bottom pair of legs. An identical red card stood next to it. They appeared to be guarding two doors that suddenly appeared where Kagome had thought was a dead end.

"This wasn't here a minute ago! It was a dead end!"

The head on the bottom of the red guard laughed. "No, that's the dead end behind you."

Kagome spun around. The direction she'd come in was now a solid rock wall. "This is unfair," she exclaimed. "It keeps changing! Now what am I supposed to do?"

The first head spoke. "Try one of these doors," he said.

His bottom face continued. "One leads to the castle and the other…"

"Ba ba ba bum!" sang the bottom of the red guard.

"…Leads to certain death!" continued the fourth, and last head.

"Oooooh!" they all chorused together. Kagome sighed.

"Which is which, then?" she asked.

"You can only ask one of us," said the bottom red guard. "It's the rules."

"One of us always lies," explained the top blue guard. "and one always tells the truth."

"He's a liar!" said the bottom blue guard, pointing at the bottom red one.

"No I'm not!"

"What a lie…"

"Ha ha ha!"

"Ok!" Kagome interrupted. She turned to the first guard that had spoken to her. "Answer me yes or no. Would he," point to other guard "tell me that this door leads to the castle?"

The guard paused, thinking it over. "Uh… yes."

Kagome smiled triumphantly. "Then this door leads to the castle!" she proclaimed, pointing to the other one. The top red guard spoke up.

"Now how do you know that?"

"He could be telling the truth," pointed out his bottom.

"Yes," Kagome agreed. "but then you wouldn't be. So if he told me yes, then the answer is no."

As the top guard considered this, the bottom continued. "But what if I'm telling the truth?"

"Then he'd be lying, and the answer would still be no."

While the guards struggled to make sense of this logic, Kagome took the chance to open the other door, and step through. "It's a piece of cake!" she said, before plummeting through a trap door.

"Aaah!"

Moldy, old hands caught her, holding fast to her shirt, arms, legs, and feet. As far as she could look, the walls of the shaft she fell through were covered with arms and hands. "Yuck," she said, grimacing.

A pair of hands formed a face with its fingers, then promptly spoke to her. "Which way? Up or down?"

Kagome thought. "I'm not sure…"

Another hand-face spoke to her. "Well hurry up, we don't have all day."

"It's a hard decision!" Kagome said, glaring at it. "Help would be nice!"

"We are helping, we're helping hands!"

"Now which way, up or down?"

"Well…" Kagome mused. "I suppose since I'm pointed that way, I'll go down."

The hands laughed at her. "She chose down!"

Kagome was suddenly scared. "Was that wrong?"

"Too late now!"

The hands let go, and Kagome found herself plummeting downwards into the darkness, landing hard on her bottom. The only light was from the shaft, dimly illuminating her face.

xox

Inuyasha watched from his castle as Kagome sat in the dark after falling through the Shaft of Hands. The goblins in his throne room looked at him expectantly.

"She's in the Oubliette now…" he said, a smirk on his face.

xox

A/N: So here's my next chapter. It may take a while to upload the third as my computer's being a b, but yeah. So, here's the review responses (sorry to all the people who reviewed Chapter One after I posted the review responses):

**Tanwen-- **How's this cliffie for ya:P Yeah, David Bowie's pretty cool. Haven't heard many of his song's, though. /

**ForbiddenRevel-- **Wow, thanks. It's great to hear that someone likes my story that much. :D

**Neko the cat hanyou-- **Well, thank you for seeing it my way. :) You can go ahead and laugh... but I think Inuyasha does fit the parts.

**Heather-- **Wow, thanks. I have been reading the movie script while I do this, so a lot of the phrases are the same. But I pride myself in that the rest is from memory. More chapters will be coming soon, so don't worry.

**Devil Child-- **Yes, I know who you are. And I know where you live! Ha ha ha ha ha! Well, I don't actually. But I do know where you go to school! >D

**Megumi15-- **Nope, I did NOT just stop there. Hee hee. Wow, I'm glad you love my story so much as to put my on your fave authors list. :) is very honoured

**Snow Lepord-- **You should watch Labyrinth, or at least read the original script. But thanks for the compliments! I will try and post often, so you won't need to miss anything.

So thanks again everyone for the reviews, and remember to keep letting me know what you think.

-Chiquitita


	4. It's Just Love

**Labyrinth**

Chapter Three: It's Just Love

-Disclaimer – Inuyasha and all related characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The storyline to Labyrinth is the property of its creators.-

Inuyasha watched the girl in the crystal, a frown on his face. "She should have given up by now…"

xox

Kagome sighed, still sitting on her bottom after landing in this dark, dank place. "Should've chosen up," she muttered. "Now what am I going to do?"

The sound of footsteps approaching reached her ears. Standing up (and rubbing her sore bottom), Kagome called, "Who's there?"

A small door opened, and light poured in from a lantern held by a small figure. Kagome recognized the small fox hands and tail almost immediately.

"Shippo!" she cried, overjoyed that he'd come to rescue her.

"Well, I knew you were going to get into trouble," he said matter-of-factly. "So I've come to give you a hand. As you've noticed, there are no doors, only the hole. This is an Oubliette. The Labyrinth's full of them."

"Oh," said Kagome, nodding as if she understood. In truth, she had no idea what an Oubliette was.

Shippo sighed, obviously seeing through her. "You don't even know what it is, do you?"

"Do you?" Kagome countered, not really wanting her lack of knowledge of the Labyrinth to be made fun of again.

"Yeah, it's a place you put people to forget about them. I know a short-cut out of here."

"Wait," she said, eyeing Shippo suspiciously. "Didn't you just say that there are no doors?"

"I didn't say there wasn't a way out," the kitsune pointed out, and Kagome had to admit he had a point. "So as I was saying, I know a short-cut out of the Labyrinth."

"No! I've come too far… I'm not giving up now!" Kagome crossed her arms. "I think I'm doing ok."

"Of course you are," said Shippo, not really listening, but looking for something on the ground. "But it gets a lot worse from here on in."

"Why are you so concerned about me?"

Shippo paused, looking at Kagome over his shoulder. "Uh, what?"

"Why would you come all this way, when you could just leave me here and go about your merry business?"

"Well I am, that's all," he said, a little defensively. "Nice young girl. Big black Oubliette."

It was Kagome's turn to stop listening. Shippo reminded her of a little kid. And all little kids liked toys, right? Fishing through her jean pocket, Kagome eyed what she had. A marble, a couple of pennies, an elastic band, a pink plastic bracelet, and her lipstick. Good enough.

"You like jewelry, don't you?" she asked, holding up the bracelet. Shippo was mesmerized.

"Why?" he asked, trying to sound like he didn't care, but sounding a little desperate instead.

Kagome's mind was whirring. "If you help me solve the Labyrinth, I'll give you this." She smiled at his expression. "You like it, don't you."

"Uh… so-so…"

"Oh…" said Kagome, feigning disappointment. She pretended to put her bracelet away. "Ok then…"

Shippo bit his lip, then spoke up. "Tell you what. You give me the bracelet, and I'll show you the way out of the Labyrinth."

"You were going to do that anyways!"

"Well, that's what would make it a particularly nice gesture."

Kagome sighed, trying to think of something else. "Then take me as far as you can, and I'll do the rest on my own."

"What is that, anyways?"

"Plastic."

"Oooh…" Shippo seemed torn. "I don't make promises… but I'll take you as far as I can. Then you're on your own, right?" He narrowed his eyes at her, as if that could make her tell the truth.

"Right," said Kagome, giving him the bracelet.

"Wow... plastic…" Shippo murmured, as he switched from fingering the bracelet around his wrist happily, to continuing searching the floor. Finally, he seemed to find what he was looking for; a small piece of wood, roughly carved into the shape of a door. He propped it against the wall, then turned the knob and swung it open. A broom fell out and bonked him on the head. "Dang, wrong way," he muttered, rubbing the bump that was now forming. "Well, can't get it right all the time."

He flipped the door over, so that the knob was now on the right side instead of the left, and swung it open again. This time, nothing fell out. Instead, he was greeted by a long, dim hall, lit up by a few brave torches along the sandy rock walls.

"Here we go!" he exclaimed proudly, gesturing for Kagome to follow him. "Come on, then."

The halls were cold and damp, and Kagome shivered slightly. She wouldn't want to get lost down here. Shippo seemed to know his way, and for that Kagome was glad. They came to a fork in the path, and found themselves face to face (literally) with a gigantic rock sculpture of a head. Its mouth slid open with a grating sound, and a booming voice filled the corridors.

"Don't go on! Go back while you still can!"

A while further, they passed another sculpture, this one with another message of warning. "This is not the way!"

"Take heed and go no further!"

"Beware! Beware!"

By now, Kagome was curious. What was this horrible danger that these rock-faces were warning her about? And why was Shippo leading her straight there?

"Soon it will be too late!"

Sensing her unease, Shippo turned to face her. "Just ignore them. They're false alarms. You'll get them a lot, especially when you're on the right track."

A nearby face heard Shippos comment. "Oh no you're not!"

"Shut up!"

"Sorry, just doing my job."

"Beware, for the path you take will lead to certain destruction!"

Shippo rolled his eyes. "Thank you very much."

Bored, Kagome looked down the rest of the corridor. That's when she spotted another familiar figure, only this time one that she didn't really want to see. "Uh oh."

Inuyasha smiled, a toothy, smug grin that exposed both his fangs. "What do we have here?"

"N-nothing," stuttered Shippo. "Your majesty! What a nice surprise."

"Hello Shippy."

"Shippo," the kitsune corrected, embarrassed.

"Shippo, why are you helping her?"

Shippo coughed. "H-helping? In what sense?"

Inuyasha bent over, his amber eyes glowing dangerously. "In the sense of leading her towards the castle, runt."

"Erm, well, you see I was actually taking her back to the beginning…"

"What?" said Kagome, looking down at Shippo in shock.

_Way to go Shippo, _the kitsune thought, mentally smacking himself on the head. Now he had two people mad at him. Two big people, who could easily hurt him. "I told her I would help her, when actually-"

"What's that thing around your wrist?" Inuyasha interrupted. Shippo looked down at the bracelet Kagome had given him and gulped.

"Ah, this? I suppose I must have just picked this up from somewhere…"

Growling, Inuyasha whispered, "If I thought for one minute you were planning to betray me, I'd dunk you head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench."

Shippo whimpered. "Not the Bog of Eternal Stench…"

Satisfied that Shippo was now too scared to even think about helping Kagome on, he stood up and turned to said girl, smirk back in place.

"And you, wench, how are you enjoying my Labyrinth? Give up yet?"

Refusing to give in, Kagome stood up straighter and looked Inuyasha right in the eye. "It's a piece of cake."

Shippo groaned from beside her, covering his face with his paws. This wasn't going to be good.

"Oh really?" Inuyasha snarled, his temper flared up. "How about upping the stakes?" A clock appeared beside his head, a clock with 13 numbers, and sped up leaving Kagome only 4 more hours to complete the Labyrinth and get her brother.

"That's not fair!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is."

Then he disappeared, but not before snapping his fingers in the direction Kagome and Shippo were headed to. There was a large machine on wheels, with a rotating disk in front. It filled up the whole corridor, and it was coming straight towards them.

"Oh no!" cried Shippo.

"What?"

"It's the Cleaners! Run!"

Kagome didn't need to be told twice. She took off down the corridor, following Shippo. The Cleaners where dangerously coming closer, and the girl could feel panic rising up in her chest, pushing her on further. Up ahead was a gate, locked and bolted and with no way through.

"Now what do we do?" Shippo squealed, pressed up against the steel gate in fear. Chewing her lip, Kagome looked around for any other way out. There, to the right. Part of the stone wall had been damaged, and covered with wooden planks.

"Shippo, help me!" she cried, pushing the wooden boards. They creaked under the pressure, but still didn't budge, and the Cleaners were getting closer.

"Kagome, stand back!" yelled Shippo, before pointing both hands at the boards and crying, "Foxfire!"

A blue flame erupted from his hands, effectively knocking down the boards and revealing a ladder, and a way out. Grabbing Shippo's paw, Kagome jumped into the opening, just as the Cleaners passed them and charged passed the gate.

"That was a little too close for comfort..." panted Kagome, getting up from the floor and wiping her hands on her jeans. Shippo scowled at her.

"'A piece of cake,' you said. Did you have any idea what you were getting us into by saying that?"

Kagome pouted, saying nothing.

"Well, follow me anyways." He started to climb up the ladder.

"Why should I?" Kagome finally spoke up, crossing her arms in true Kagome-fashion. "I can't trust you. You said you were going to lead me back to the beginning."

Still, climbing, Shippo looked back down at her. "I wasn't. I told him that so he wouldn't be suspicious."

"How can I believe you?"

"What choice do you have?"

He had a point. Again. With a heavy sigh, Kagome followed Shippo's small form as he climbed up the ladder. They eventually reached the top, which proved to be a large urn sitting atop a table.

_How wierd, _thought Kagome, but not surprised. The scenery now had completely changed. The maze was made of tall, thick hedges, full of interesting (and some completely odd) wildlife. Shippo hummed a random tune as they walked, and Kagome was lost in her thoughts. Mostly about Inuyasha.

_What's his problem, anyways? Always calling me "wench", trying to stop me from taking my brother back... stupid Goblin King._

Her thoughts where interrupted by the sound of a furious yell.

"Wind Tunnel!"

Kagome blinked and looked down at Shippo, who blinked and looked back up at her. Simultaneously, they both looked in the direction the yell had come from, and peeked around the bush to see what was happening.

xox

Inuyasha was sitting in his chambers again, arms crossed, and looking more like an impetuous child than a King. His thoughts were littered with the arrival of that _girl, _and the onslaught of emotions that came with it.

_Stupid wench. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Stupid Inuyasha._

Everytime he saw her, he felt this weird over-protectiveness. Gods, he even felt jealous of the runt. He knew that Shippy (was it Shippy? Maybe it was Shoppy... he couldn't remember) was leading Kagome to the castle, and he knew that he shouldn't let it happen. But part of him _wanted _it to happen.

This wasn't supposed to happen. He wasn't supposed to fall in love with her.

xox

A/N: All together now: "Oooooooh!". Heh heh. Sorry about the speed up on the romance, but this isn't going to be a very long story (twelve chaps at most, including Pologue and Epologue), and I'm a romance freak, so yeah. I apologise ahead for my next chapter, since it's going to be pretty short. I had some writer's block when I wrote it, and plus Microsoft Word was uninstalled from my computer (after it decided to revert to it's original format on us), so I couldn't how many pages it really was. I do know that it will be shorter than my other chapters, so again, I apologise.  
Anyhoo, here are the review responses:

**Baby-Jayde-- **Wow, thank you so much for noticing! It wasn't really easy to keep them IC, especially because of the differences between Jareth and Inuyasha (wearing makeup is more of a Sesshomaru-ish thing; and frankly, it would be very disturbing to see Inuyasha wearingspandex pants and singing _Dance Magic_), so I kinda had to mesh them together. Heh. But the Kagome-Sarah character was much easier to do, since they're both alike anyways. But thanks again!

**Neko the cat hanyou-- **Yeah, well, I don't really wanna be sued or anything :P. I'm glad you started warming to my story (or at least my writing style). I will try and keep it as different as possible, but there are some quotes from the movie that I love, and that I had to keep here. (e.g. Sarah: "That's unfair!" Jareth: "You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is." Not very Inuyasha-like, but meh.)

**Snow Lepord-- **Inuyasha didn't particualrly want Kagome to fall into the Oubliette, he just didn't want her to get to the Castle. Getting that close was probably quite unnerving for him, and so he was relieved that she didn't take the direct route to the Castle. Ido recommend the movie. I'm trying to write the story in a way that people who haven't seen the movie could still understand, but it would probably help you a lot more if you did see it.

**Tanwen-- **Haha. Parlez-vous le francais? Aurgh... I can never remember my verbs. Either that, or we haven't learned "oublier" yet. But it's probably the former. Extra bonus points to you! And like I said before, you should watch the movie. It would help a lot, especially in your reviews. nudge

**Megumi15-- **I update fast pretty much because I'd like it if other authors did the same. Plus, I get reviews faster, and you guys get the story faster! It's a win-win situation. :P

**lh1990--** Heh, don't worry. Inuyasha won't be wearing any spandex in the story, only his usual outfit. Not only does it help so his character doesn't get so OOC,as I said earlier, seeing Inuyasha wearing _any _kind of David Bowie outfit would probably be downright scary. Not that it doesn't work on Bowie; just that it would never work on out lovable half-demon. :)

So thanks again, guys, and keep the reviews coming. The next chapter should be up soon!

-Chiquitita


	5. the Aftermath

**Labyrinth**

Chapter Four: the Aftermath

-Disclaimer – Inuyasha and all related characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The storyline to Labyrinth is the property of its creators.-

Miroku the monk batted off a couple of pesky goblins, who decided to rob him that unevenful day. Well, they chose the wrong monk, that was certain. At first, he hadn't wanted to resort to extreme measures, but the goblins kept coming and coming, and eventually he decided to scare them off.

"Wind Tunnel!" he bellowed, removing the rosary and cloth that covered the hole in his palm. A black void, made up of complete emptiness, was sucking up everything in it's path into his hand. The goblins squealed, trying to get away, but it was too strong, and they eventually gave up. Then at the very last moment, he covered his palm and moved out of the way, watching with an amused gleam in his eye as the creatures toppled over into a pile.

Unfortunately, one stray goblin had managed to remain concious, and the minute the monk turned around to pick up his staff, it attacked, latching onto Miroku's back.

Kagome and Shippo chose this moment to peer around the hedge at what was happening. The girl blinked, noticing a young man wearing dark purple robes, and his short black hair held back in a ponytail at the base of his neck. He was trying to (unsuccessfully) dislodge a goblin from his back; one that didn't seem to particularly want to let go.

Without thinking (a trait she'd been doing more often lately), Kagome picked up a large rock, took careful aim, and hurled it at the goblins head. There was a loud _clang! _as the rock bounced off it's helmet, effectively making the creature dizzy enough for the man to dislodge it from it's back. After staggering around for a moment, the goblin plopped atop of the rest of his unconcious buddies.

With a charming smile, Miroku turned to the young lady who'd just rescued him. "Why, thank you, milady," he said, grasping her hand in both his own. Kagome flushed a little, ignoring Shippo's groan from beside her. "It was a pleasure to be saved by such a beautiful young lady as yourself. My name is Miroku, and I am but a humble monk. Anything you ask, you shall recieve. But may I say-"

This was Shippo's cue to interrupt. "Can it, Miroku."

"Ahh, Shippy. How nice it is to see you again."

"It's _Shippo_," he muttered, turning away. But not before sending a warning glance in Kagome's direction. Kagome, for her part, was incredibly confused.

"Uh, so, I take it that you two know each other?"

Grin back in place, Miroku turned back to Kagome, and grasped her hands again. The girl sweatdropped, tugging at her hands to remove them, but to no avail.

"May I know the name of the brave maiden who rescued me?" he asked, an expression of pure innocence on his face.

"Uh... Kagome..."

"Lady Kagome," here Miroku's face turned completely serious. Kagome could feel the back of her neck heat up. "Would you do me the honour of bearing my child?"

Kagome felt a hand caress her behind at Miroku's request, but before she could respond (or punch his daylights out), Miroku was conked on the head by a furious half-demon who suddenly appeared behind them.

"Oi, Miroku."

"Your majesty..." croaked the monk from the ground, where he nursed a large bump on his head. "...Always a pleasure..."

Kagome, however, was not as pleased to see Inuyasha. "You jerk!" she yelled, startling all three males (and a couple of goblins who'd started regaining conciousness). Inuyasha's ears flattened against his head. This probably wasn't going to be good. "You nearly got us killed! We could have been crushed, or... or-"

"Well, obviously, you weren't," drawled the Goblin King, tucking his arms in the sleeves of his fire-rat robe. His expression of pure not-caring only drove Kagome's temper on further. Starting to predict a very large explosion in the near future, Shippo and Miroku backed away.

You could almost see the steam pouring out of Kagome's ears. Even the arrogant Inuyasha noticed, and began to wish he hadn't said that last comment.

Just as she opened her mouth to spew some colourful words, Inuyasha jumped into action, covering her mouth with his hand. Kagome glared daggers at him, her yelling muffled by his hand. Eventually however, she calmed down, and he removed it.

Shippo looked up from where he was hiding. "Is it over?"

Ignoring him, Inuyasha thrust his closed hand in Kagome's direction, indicating that he had something to give her. Curiousity overriding all other emotions, Kagome accepted what he handed to her, feeling something like cool glass being dropped into her palm. When she opened her palm and looked down, Kagome was shocked to see none other than the Shikon no Tama resting there. The same jewel that Inuyasha had offered her in exchange for her brother the first time she met him.

Confusion clearly written in her face, Kagome narrowed her eyes and looked at him. "But... I thought..."

"I'm not _giving _it to you, wench. I need you to keep it safe for me."

Bristling at his arrogant attitude, Kagome exclaimed, "What if I don't _want _to keep it safe from you, _your highness_? You haven't been very friendly to me since I got here."

"I am asking you to keep it safe from me for now," he all but snarled. Shippo and Miroku looked back and forth between the two like it was some kind of soap opera on TV. "I don't care what you do with it, as long as you keep it safe. Understand?"

Grumbling, Kagome agreed, albiet slightly bitterly. Smug expression back in place, Inuyasha once again disappeared. Kagome plopped the jewel in her pocket, pushing it down to the bottom so it wouldn't fall out.

"Don't know what's so special about a stupid jewel anyways," she muttered, almost forgetting about the presence of the other two males. Finally feeling their eyes on her, she spun around and hissed, "What!"

"N-nothing! Nothing at all!"

"And may I say, Kagome, you look quite lovely in that shirt... doesn't she, Shippy?"

"... that's Shippo..."

With a sigh, Kagome rubbed her eyes, and turned in the direction she and Shippo where going. "Well? Are we going?"

"Ah, Kagome," the monk interrupted, scratching the back of his neck, a nervous expression on his face.

"Yes Miroku? And no... I will no bear your child..."

He chuckled. "Actually, I was going to ask if I could join you in your quest to get to the Castle beyond Goblin City? I do know my way around here, after all these years of wandering."

Kagome smiled, and gestured for him to join Shippo and herself. All three of them began to walk then, making their way to Goblin City, and what lay beyond.

"So Miroku... how did you get that whole in your hand?"

"Well you see, Kagome, that's a very long story. It goes like this..."

xox

A/N: Again, really sorry about how short it is. But I have some extra stuff to make it up to you. First off, since everyone wants to know, I'll write out the character list for you (from the known characters in the movie and story).

**Inuyasha -- **(obviously) the Goblin King  
**Kagome Higurashi -- **Sarah  
**Souta Higurashi -- **Toby  
**Shippo -- **Hoggle (I wanted to keep the discovery of friends in order as how Kagome discovers them in the manga... if that makes any sense. And plus, like someone said -forgive me,I can't remember- they do have a very good friendship)  
**Miroku -- **Ludo (although... he's more of a Sir Didymus, don't you think?)  
**Sango -- **Sir. Didymus (as **LA **cleverly deduced. Cookies to you!)

And second, review responses:

**Neko the cat hanyou -- **Was there a pun I missed? O.O;; Erm... yeah... well, glad you liked it anyways, heh heh. I'm so happy you're starting to like my story! But I can't tell you anything about the ending... only that some of you may flame, some may not -evil grin-.

**Heather -- **Why thank you! Keep the reviews coming, and I'll try my best.

**Tanwen -- **Eh, you don't have to watch the movie. It's up to you. I've already said anyways that the story's going to have a twist ending... but that's all I'm going to give up. French (at least in Toronto) is mandatory in school's up to grade 9. Heh, "j'ai oublier mes devoirs". I should really use that sometimes. ;)

**la89801 -- **Like I said before, you've figured it out! You smart cookie you! I got your reviews, all of them, and I have to say that made my day. Thank you so much!

**Sethra Ri-Senzo -- **Yet another review that made me feel good! Hee hee, yeah, I thought that would be kinda cute to insert there. Although, everyone who hasn't watched the movie's probably going "Huh?" right now. Keep reviewing, and thanks for the compliments!

**Noelle Voorhees -- **Wow, thank you! I love getting positive reviews from new people. It's so refreshing!

**? -- **Actually, there's more than one spelling of Tessaiga, this one, and Tetsusaiga (which I'm not even sure _is _spelled right). I just chose the easier one. So when you criticize my spelling make sure you have the right facts. And the next time you review my story, try and learn how to spell yourself. This wasn't much of a review, either.

**Megumi15 -- **You got it! I couldn't really think of anyone else who could be Ludo... I mean, who in the Inuyasha Universe is that calm and quiet? Or maybe whatisname (the hanyou Kagome and Inuyasha met on their travels once, and it wasn't Shiori Oo;;).

**Kate -- **Thanks for the compliments, but no, Inuyasha won't sing. I completely agree with you there. He'd be too OC, and I'm having trouble keeping him in-character as it is!

**Snow Lepord -- **Inuyasha only realised later that he's starting to fall in love with Kagome, but he probably doesn't want anyone to know, as it could be percieved as a weakness. Besides, he has to be seen as the "evil Goblin King", to her anyways. He's kinda fighting a battle with himself right now.

**chibi sakura blossom -- **Wow... don't think like that. :P Glad you like my story, though!

**yeahitsme03 -- **Thank you! You like the worm? Wow, that's the first time I've heard that.

**RobinRox13 -- **Thanks! Keep those reviews coming!

And finally, I have a new idea for another Inuyasha story. It was inspired by a story I read on here (I'll post the name when I remember it), and I'd like to see what you think of it.

Basically, a new student shows up at Kagome's school, and pretty soon after she begins to recieve threatening e-mails and phone calls. After a too-close encounter in a back alley way, Kagome goes back to the past to ask her friends for help.

It's gonna be called "Stalking Higurashi" (unless I can come up with a better name, LOL), and is non-AU. Tell me what you think.

-Chiquitita


	6. the Demon Exterminator and the B of ES

**Labyrinth**

Chapter Five: the Demon Exterminator and the Bog of Eternal Stench

-Disclaimer – Inuyasha and all related characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The storyline to Labyrinth is the property of its creators.-

* * *

During the time that Inuyasha was growing up, and that Izayoi became Queen of the Labyrinth, an evil demon by the name of Naraku reigned havoc upon their Kingdom. Death clung to him like a second skin, and even the mightiest of demons cowered at his feet.

Naraku had harboured a sick love for a priestess he met on his travels, a priestess who'd never returned his feelings, but in fact had fallen in love with the youngest son of InuTaisho, Inuyasha. And so Inuyasha and Naraku became sworn enemies, fighting for the love of one woman.

But the priestess, Kikyo, could never love Inuyasha. He was only a young fifteen to her seventeen years, and he was half-demon. Even she could not accept him unless he found a way to turn human. Sensing their differences, Naraku managed to tear the young couple apart, making them believe that the other had betrayed them. In a fit of desperation, Kikyo committed suicide. The jewel she protected, the Shikon no Tama, was passed into the hands of her sister Kaede, who -believing that Inuyasha could never betray her elder sister- gave it to the half-demon.

Naraku mysteriously disappeared after that, no one knowing anything about where he was, or what happened to him. But he wasn't dead, he made sure of that.

For before he left, Naraku placed a curse on a young monk named Miroku's hand, creating a black void that would suck up everything in it's path, including one day Miroku himself unless he managed to defeat the evil demon. Why Miroku? For the simple fact that Naraku had once requested Miroku's assistance in defeating Inuyasha, but Miroku remained strong by the half-demon's side. Ever since, Inuyasha and Miroku shared an odd, but satisfying friendship.

"So that's how you two know each other?" Kagome asked, head tilted sideways, and eyeing Miroku with a newfound respect. That was, until, she felt an unwelcome hand land on her behind.

"Yes, Lady Kagome, that is how we know each other." Miroku grinned as he rubbed the red handprint that suddenly appeared on his cheek. Shippo snickered, and Kagome simply fumed.

"Perverted lecher..." she muttered stalking away, her hands clenched into fists by her side.

"Hey Kagome! Wait!"

The girl turned at the sound of Shippo's voice, her line of vision following his extended arms to another pair of doors, this time with no guards, but a pair of extremely ugly doorknockers. One had a large ring through its ear, and the other held the ring in its mouth.

"Well," said Miroku, studying the knockers carefully. "Which of these two ugly characters should we choose?"

"It's very rude to stare!"

Kagome blinked, startled. It was the knocker with the ring through both its ears that had spoken. "Oh," she said, slightly flustered. "We were just wondering which door to choose."

"Sno gd tlking tm, hs dfsa pst."

The attention of the girl, kitsune, and monk shifted to the other doorknocker, obviously having difficulty talking with a ring in his mouth.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!" chastised the first knocker.

"I'm nt tlkng wth my mth fll!"

"I can understand you..." Kagome said, pulling out the ring from his mouth with a yank. The knocker groaned in relief, opening and closing his mouth to stretch the steel muscles.

"Oh my," he said. "It feels so good to get that thing out."

"So what were you saying?" asked Miroku.

"I said it's no good talking to him," the knocker said, gesturing with his chin to the other knocker, which slurred his last word. "He's deaf as a post."

The other knocker snorted. "Mumble, mumble. You're a wonderful conversational companion."

"Well, all you do is moan."

"No good. Can't hear you."

"Where do these doors lead?" Kagome finally asked, getting a little annoyed. She was expecting it to be a little like the other doors, with the riddle.

"Search me. We're just the knockers. We wouldn't know."

"Oh..." Kagome was, quite obviously, a little disappointed. This made it harder. Noticing her drop in spirit, Miroku took over the questioning.

"Well, how do you get through?"

"Knock and we shall open!" cried the knocker dramatically.

Shippo was currently studying the other knocker, to that particular knockers dismay. He stuck his face up close to it, poking at it until finally, the knocker had enough. "Do you mind?"

Evidently, Shippo didn't, as he continued his examination.

"I don't want that thing back in my mouth!" the second knocker said, eyeing Kagome and the ring she held in her hand warily. The girl sighed in frustration. Reached out a hand, she plugged his nose and held it, watching as the knocker squirmed uncomfortably (or squirmed as much as a knocker can). Finally, it gave, opening its mouth to take a deep breath, and receiving a mouth full of ring from a triumphant Kagome.

"Sorry about that," Miroku apologized for her, as she scooped up Shippo and knocked on the door.

It swung open, revealing a long hall like before. Shippo hopped off her shoulder (a little annoyed that she'd put him there in the first place), sniffing at the air a little suspiciously. Unconcerned, Kagome and Miroku walked ahead, down the slightly tilted pathway, and opened the door, only to be assaulted by a horrible smell. For a minute, Kagome thought she couldn't breathe.

"Oh man... what is that?"

Shippo reappeared beside them, paw over nose, small face grim. "The Bog of Eternal Stench..." he said quietly. "The worst smelling place in all the Underground. If you place even one foot in it, you'll reek of it forever."

"I've never smelled anything like it!" cried Kagome, covering her own nose. Miroku looked queasy. "It's like... like..."

"Doesn't matter what it's like," Shippo interrupted. "It's the Bog of Eternal Stench."

All three of them stood on a thin ledge before a steep drop. The canyon below was full of a green, bubbling, oozing mess, and emitting a smell that would make your eyes cross. There was no way to describe it. Like Shippo said, it didn't matter what it smelled like. It simply was the Bog of Eternal Stench.

"There's a bridge over there," Miroku managed to cough out, despite the fact that his face was turning a pale shade of green. The trio edged they're way along the ledge, careful not to slip. When they neared the bridge, the footing underneath Kagome's feet gave way, sending herself, Shippo, and Miroku tumbling down the walls to land (fortunately) on a bank. Miroku happened to be on the bottom, thanks to Kagome grabbing his sleeve at the last second, with Kagome in the middle, and Shippo lying on her stomach, teetering dangerously close to the... erm... Bog.

Kagome was quick to stand up, yanking Shippo off her and away from the bog. The kitsune suspected it was mainly because a particular monk's hand had found it's way to her behind.

After gaining their composure back, the three faced the bridge in front of them, It was teetering and in bad shape, and Kagome was immediately in doubt as to whether she really wanted to cross it or not. Before either could decide, a young woman jumped in front of them, blocking their path. She wore a black armour outfit and a mask on her face (probably to filter out the smell of the Bog), and held a humongous boomerang over her head, preparing to strike.

"You may not cross this bridge without my permission!"

xox

Inuyasha was sulking again. He sat in his chambers, glaring at the crystal ball in his hand. He should have realized it from the moment he'd laid eyes on her.

_Damn her for looking so much like Kikyo!_

At least, he reasoned, he now had a reason for his unwilling attraction to her. Only problem was Kagome made him feel completely different than Kikyo ever could. Her scent wasn't as lofty or evading as the priestess', but intoxicating. Even her hair and eyes and the way she carried herself was different.

He was so busy brooding that he didn't notice the door to his chamber open, or that familiar smell invade his senses (a smell he used to relate to rotting flesh or something equally as charming), until a fist bopped him in the back of the head.

"Hey ya mangy mutt, what's up?"

Snarling, Inuyasha jumped up, momentarily forgetting the fragile glass ball he held in his hand in favour of baring his fangs to the man in front of him. He was about Inuyasha's height, although he seemed a couple years older. His long black hair was tied up into a ponytail, and a headband kept extra wisps away from his pointy ears. Bright blue eyes flickered in amusement, and a tail poked out from behind the rather short rag he wore to cover his lower half.

"What the hell do you want, you stupid wolf?"

Inuyasha and Koga were never really friends. In fact, they'd almost always been rivals towards each other. The rivalry was furthered when Sesshomaru offered Koga a position in his court as a messenger, and Koga accepted. Since then, the only times the two ever saw each other was when Sesshomaru needed Inuyasha to know something, which was rare enough as the stoic demon lord cared so little about his younger brother, and even less as to what he knew or not. Unless it was important –no, _vital_- to both their kingdoms that Inuyasha knew.

Said "stupid wolf" scratched his chin thoughtfully, suddenly taking an avid interest in the crystal ball Inuyasha was still holding. "Now what's this?"

He snatched it away from the still-fuming goblin king, and before he could protest grab it back, was watching the images in fascination. Or more particularly, one of the images. A young girl, with raven black hair and sparkling blue eyes.

"Looks an awful lot like Kikyo, doesn't she?" he said, once Inuyasha had snatched the crystal ball back, and shoved it safely inside his fire-rat clothing.

"So what if she does?" he drawled, leaning back into his chair and assuming the position he'd taken before Koga's intrusion. Koga sat down opposite without waiting for Inuyasha's permission, much to the half-demon's annoyance. "Currently she's attempting to find her way here in four hours and take her brother back. She's done a pretty good job so far, but I've got a couple more surprises for her." He smirked.

Koga snorted, then gazed out the tall window to his left, a thoughtful expression on his face. After a few minutes of uncomfortable silence (in which Inuyasha fidgeted and Koga continued to stare out the window), the goblin king finally blurted out, "Well? Aren't you going to tell me what my brother sent you here for?"

Koga, looking like he'd been snapped out of a trance, sat bolt upright. "Oh right, the message." Inuyasha rolled his eyes, but the wolf-demon's face became deadly serious. "You remember Naraku, right?"

Looking like he'd tasted something particularly disgusting, Inuyasha nodded. "Of course I remember that asshole," he spat.

"That's good. Because there have been sightings…"

Inuyasha felt like someone dumped icy cold water all over him. "Sightings?"

"Yes," said Koga, his face and voice still dead serious. "I had to say it, but it sounds like Naraku is still alive, and he's come back to finish what he started."

xox

Kagome groaned, not wanting any more delays that prevented her from getting to Souta. Shippo, however, squealed in delight. Miroku simply grinned.

The young woman, who's long brown hair was pulled back high onto her head, glared at all three, until her companion –a small, beige coloured kitten with two black stripes on her tail and huge red eyes– jumped onto her shoulder and mewled into her ear. Then she seemed to recognize them, or Shippo and Miroku at least.

"Shippo!" she cried, opening her arms. The tiny kitsune jumped into them, and scampered onto her previously unoccupied shoulder.

Waving a paw in Kagome's direction, he said, "This is Kagome. I'm accompanying her to the Castled beyond Goblin City. Miroku you already know."

Miroku put on his most charming smile as he walked over, grasping her hand in his own. "Sango, it warms my heart to see you again after all this time…"

Kagome, Shippo, and even the little cat flinched as a resounding slap echoed through the Bog of Eternal Stench. "Can it, lecher." After carefully placing a few feet between herself and the monk, the girl named Sango turned to Kagome, and held out her hand. "I'm Sango, the guardian of this bridge. This is my firecat, Kirara."

Kagome grinned, accepting Sango's outstretched hand, but mindful to hold her breath as she did so. "Do you think we could get across? I really need to find my brother…"

Sango seemed to be smiling behind her mask (it was really hard to tell) as she nodded. "Of course you can. I'll even help you get there."

It was a about an hour and a half later, and deep into the ominous looking forest on the other side of the Bog that Kagome began to hear a familiar rumble start in her stomach. Ignoring it for the time being, she turned to her newfound friend and struck up conversation. It turned out that Sango was a pretty talkative person once rid of the mask she wore.

"So you're a demon exterminator then?"

"I _was_…" she said, a sad look crossing her face. "I was raised in a village not far from the Labyrinth. During that time, an evil demon named Naraku spread death across the entire Underground. When he came upon my village, the legions of demons he commanded attacked us, and killed all except for myself. Naraku killed my brother, then resurrected him and wiped away his memory. Until his disappearance two years ago he'd been using Kohaku as one of his servants."

Kagome said nothing. She couldn't imagine what kind of pain Sango was feeling right now, and didn't want to. The rumble in her stomach grew louder, and she found herself rummaging through her pockets, trying to find something _anything _to quench her hunger. She fingered the jewel Inuyasha gave her, and absentmindedly pulled it out. Before her eyes it grew, larger, pinker, softer, and slightly more deformed until in her hand she held a peach. Kagome blinked, and blinked again, then without hesitation, bit into it.

All of a sudden, the world around her was spinning. Voices mixed with each other, and she could no longer tell which was which. Sango's worried face blended with Miroku's, who blended with Shippo's. Then all went dark.

xox

Inuyasha sat on the window sill of his chambers, watching bubbles blow into the wind. Each contained an image, but currently his amber gaze was focused on one that held a young woman, laying unconscious on the ground, her black hair fanning out behind her and a peach held in her hand.

_Reminds me of Snow White,_ he thought. Time to put his plan into action.

* * *

A/N: Well here you go at last, Chapter Five of _Labyrinth_. Took me a while, didn't it? To make up for it, though, I combined what was going to be Chapter Six in with it, but since it's 12 am it may not make much sense at the moment. Nevertheless, please enjoy!

And remember to review!


	7. A Kind of Pale Jewel

**Labyrinth**

Chapter Six: A Kind of Pale Jewel

-Disclaimer – Inuyasha and all related characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The storyline of Labyrinth is the property of it's creators.-

* * *

She was floating. It was like the laws of gravity had somehow excluded her. Like when you're swimming, and you pause and let yourself float in the middle of the water, relishing the way you don't quite touch the bottom, and the way your hair suddenly feels weightless.

It felt wonderful.

Kagome sluggishly raised on arm, surprised to see it bare up to the shoulder, where a puffy, cloud-like sleeve began. She blinked (slowly, feeling her long lashes connect with her cheek before her eyes lifted again), recognising the dress she wore. It was the same one the doll in her music box donned; the one that looked like a gown out of a fantasy ballroom scene. The skirt was long and full, and the bodice sparkled with gold trimming. The entire gown shimmered when she moved even slightly, the incandescent material catching light and reflecting it in a multitude of pastel colours. A headpiece rested in her hair, still long and falling over her shoulders in midnight waves.

Vaguely, Kagome wondered what the heck was going on. But her awareness was blurred from the peach she ate, making everything she saw register in a dream-like state. In this state she had no cares; didn't care about her worried new-found friends, didn't care about her family back Aboveground, didn't even care about finishing the Labyrinth to rescue her little brother.

Instead, she felt anticipation of whatever was going to happen. Images of the "mysterious" Goblin King of the Labyrinth floated before her, and in a moment of clarity Kagome realised what was happening.

Then the bubble popped.

xox

It seemed that, whatever bubble that she was in had reduced her to that strange half-conscious state she was in. It led her not to question what was going on, probably to prevent her from waking up. It was too late now.

Kagome was standing in a ballroom, walled with mirrors and lit with chandeliers that hung off an impossibly high ceiling. Despite the size of the room, it was crowded with exotic looking dancers dressed rather provocatively. Women wore gowns revealing most of their shoulders and cleavage, and not much else to the imagination. The men wore shirts open to the waist, showing off their well toned chests. Many wore masks that looked like elegant parodies of goblin faces. They had an almost sinister look. Kagome shivered.

As she walked through the dancing and thriving goblins, she noticed two women peering at her over their fans and snickering. Kagome flushed, feeling horribly plain and self-conscious next to them.

Quickly turning away, she caught the reflection of herself in one of the mirrors. Then she noticed someone else much farther away in the room staring at her intently. Her pulse quickened slightly, and she turned to walk in his direction.

xox

She was beautiful. Inuyasha allowed a smirked as he regarded Kagome from his vantage point across the room. She was radiant, standing out from the crowd like a star in the night sky.

Beautiful goblins flocked him, flirting with him and inviting him to dance. But they were nothing compared to her. Ignoring the women, he walked towards the strange girl who seemed to be accumulating more and more space in his head lately. The girls behind him pouted slightly, then moved on to more willing prey.

Apparently, Kagome had noticed his unwavering attention on her, and had begun making her own way to him. Then as his eyes met hers, she froze in place.

Kagome's heart beat erratically when Inuyasha finally reached her, then placed his hands lightly on her waist. He was close enough for her to smell him; a subtle, masculine scent. It made her feel woozy.

"You look beautiful…"

She blushed. Inuyasha was still wearing his red fire-rat clothing, minus the white shirt underneath. It was getting harder for her to breath.

"What… what is this place?" Kagome asked, gesturing to the ballroom and the dancers spinning around them.

"It's a dream bubble."

"It's… not real?"

"It's as real as you or I."

"Then how—" a finger to her lips paused her words.

"Just hush." He pulled her closer, resting his head on top of hers, and inhaling her scent. They stayed that way for a bit, until Kagome remembered her brother.

"I need to go back," she said quietly, not really wanting to leave the security of his arms. "I need to get my brother." Inuyasha pulled back to look at her, his amber eyes meeting her blue ones.

"You don't really…" he murmured, sliding a clawed thumb down her jaw line and neck. Kagome shivered at the intimacy of his touch. "Stay here. Stay with me."

"I can't…"

Her resolve was weakening and they both could tell. He leaned forward, his breath fanning her ear, and his long silver hair tickling her cheek. "Besides," he whispered. "You've stolen my heart."

Kagome's erratically beating heart stopped at his declaration, as did the rest of her. But as the dancers surrounding them spun out of control like a kaleidoscope, she found it harder and harder to keep her eyes open. And so she finally closed them, just as his warm lips covered hers. His mouth was soft and persuading, but his need was passionate. She gave into his spell, returning the kiss as passionately as he did.

Somewhere along her journey, Kagome realised, she had fallen in love with the Goblin King.

xox

Kagome was never sure how exactly it ended. All she could remember was the mirrors shattering around them, the world crumbling, and falling. She couldn't stop falling. Then she landed with a thump in a heap of junk, no longer in her pretty gown but in jeans once more.

Old goblins with hunchbacks marched past her, sorting through garbage and adding things to the growing pile of junk they carried on their backs. Kagome couldn't remember what happened. She couldn't remember how she got here, or what she was supposed to be looking for. The more she tried to remember, the more she forgot.

Standing up, Kagome brushed off her jeans (unsure of why she felt like she hadn't been wearing them the whole time), and looked at her surroundings. All she could see were large piles of junk.

"What happened to me?"

* * *

A/N: Kinda short, I know. But the ballroom scene wasn't that long, either. I really wasn't inspired to write this chapter, so I'm not sure how good it is. I'd just finished reading sections of _Bel Canto_ (by Ann Patcett), so the beginning may sound a little funny. Tell me what you think.


	8. Crimson and Clover

**Labyrinth**

Chapter Seven: Crimson and Clover

-Disclaimer – Inuyasha and all related characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi. The storyline of Labyrinth is the property of it's creators.-

* * *

_Ah, now I don't hardly know her **x** But I think I could love her **x** Crimson and clover_

Inuyasha was pissed. Very, very pissed. His plan had backfired (not disappointingly, however), causing him to not only admit the full depths of his feelings to Kagome, but to fall deeper in love with her.

_But_, he thought with a smirk, _that kiss did make up for it._

Unfortunately, thoughts of his kiss with Kagome led to thoughts of what exactly had happened to cause them to split up. He knew, of course. And the name tasted like acid on his tongue.

"Naraku."

xox

_Ah, when she comes walking over **x** I've been waiting to show her **x** Crimson and clover_

"How the hell could she have disappeared? I thought you were watching over her!"

"Calm down, Sango my love. I simply went for some water to—"

"_I_ was the one who was going for the water, not you! And don't you 'Sango-my-love' me you perverted…"

Shippo exhaled in frustration, rubbing one paw over his eyes. It had been like this since the prone body of Kagome had vanished out of thin air. Immediately after she'd fainted, Sango had begun fussing over the girl, finding nothing suspicious or out of place except for the small marble-like jewel she held in her hand. Figuring that it was her friend's, she put it back into Kagome's jean pocket. Then, the moment she, Miroku and Shippo had turned their backs, Kagome disappeared. The only one who could have seen what happened was Kirara, and she couldn't talk.

The kitsune realised that part of it _was _his fault. After Miroku had marched happily after Sango (who'd gone to find water with which she could wake the younger girl), he'd left to do some, er, _business_ in the surrounding forestry, leaving Kirara to watch over Kagome. When he'd returned, she was gone, and Sango and Miroku were arguing.

"…excuse of a monk!"

"Sango, has anyone ever told you how lovely you look when you're angry?"

Shippo decided that now was the time to intervene before Sango beat the lecherous monk to a bloody pulp. Despite his young age, Shippo could be very mature when he needed to be. Such as he did right now.

"Knock it off, you two!"

Both adults stopped and looked down at the kitsune, curious and slightly guilty expressions on their faces. Noticing that he now had their full and undivided attention, Shippo continued.

"You can continue this argument later. Right now, we have to find Kagome."

xox

_Yeah, my, my such a sweet thing **x** I would do everything **x** What a beautiful feeling_

Kagome was confused. Where was she? How did she get here? And why did she feel like she was looking for something?

Her attention was diverted when she heard a rough voice, withered with age, yell, "Get off my back!"

_Funny, _thought Kagome. _Sounded like that came from this pile of junk…_

Before she realised what was happening, the pile of junk she was lying on moved abruptly, and she tumbled down. Turns out the pile _was _someone's back. Kagome blinked. How… bizarre.

The old junklady glared at her. Her hair was stringy and grey and her clothes where not much more than rags. The girl wrinkled her nose at the smell. For some reason she felt as though she'd smelled worse.

"Why don't you look where you're going, hmm?"

"I-I was looking," stuttered Kagome.

"Huh?" The junklady looked surprised. "Where were you going?"

As much as Kagome thought, she really couldn't remember, and said as much.

"Well," said the junklady, eyeing Kagome. "You can't look where you're going if you don't know."

"I was searching for something, I think…"

The junklady grinned suddenly, showing off her crooked teeth. "Well look what I've got here!" From behind her back she produced a teddy bear that looked awfully familiar. Kagome recognised it as one of her own.

"Lancelot…?" she said uncertainly.

"That's what you were looking for, wasn't it dearie?"

"I guess so…" Kagome allowed herself to be ushered away from the nearby junk piles, through a carefully hidden door, and into a small room. It was _her _room.

Meanwhile, the junklady was bumbling around the room, pushing Kagome into the chair by her vanity as she sought out more things to give her.

"Now what have we got here? It's your little bunny rabbit! You like little bunny, don't you? Yes, yes, yes…"

Kagome snatched the small white rabbit away from the junklady, clutching it to her chest along with Lancelot. The junklady looked happy at that, picking up one of Kagome's old dolls and giving it to her.

"And there's Betsy Boo. Yes, yes, yes! What else have we got? What's this? A pencil box! Got lots of pencils. And your panda slippers, you never wanted them thrown away, did you? Oh and little horsie. You love little horsie don't you? And dear old Flopsie; you'll want her. Oh yes, Charlie Bear. There's Charlie Bear for you."

Kagome had the weirdest feeling that there was something else she was supposed to be looking for, and that she didn't have much more time to find it. Unconsciously, her fingers sought out the small red book that lay on her vanity.

"There was something I was looking for," she murmured, flipping it open to the marked page.

"Ah, don't talk nonsense," chided the junklady. "Everything in the world that you've ever cared about is all right here."

_No! _screamed a voice in Kagome's head. _That can't be true, there's something else you care about, and you should be looking for it right now. _Her brow narrowed as she read a passage from the book.

"To take back the child that you have stolen…"

It came to her in a rush. Souta. Shippo. Sango. Miroku. _Inuyasha._

"What's the matter, dearie?" asked the junklady, noticing Kagome's silence. "Don't you like your toys?"

"It's all junk," said Kagome quietly, her face lighting up as she began to remember more and more.

The junklady stopped to look at her. "Well what about this?" she picked up Kagome's jewellery box and pressed it into the girl's hands. "This isn't junk, hmm?"

"Yes it is." Kagome jumped up, her toys falling from her lap to the floor. The walls around her "room" fell apart, and the tops of the junk piles could be seen, as two tall figures and one smaller one scrambling over them.

"Kagome!"

"Sango! Miroku! Shippo!"

She laughed as the small kitsune flung himself into her arms, apparently forgetting to be mature and intelligent in his excitement to see her.

Sango ran up to her friend, grinning and slightly out of breath. "Kirara tracked you down," she explained.

"Look, Kagome," said Miroku, pointing to something behind her. Kagome turned around and grinned. "We're almost there. Just beyond these junk piles are the gates to the Goblin City."

The friends climbed through the junk piles, falling down a few times in their haste to reach the gates. Finally there, Kagome dusted off her jeans and grinned again. It seemed she could not stop grinning. Ever since she regained her memory, an infectious smile had been plastered onto her face. One memory in particular kept popping up.

_Inuyasha…_

Feeling her face heat up, Kagome quickly turned away from her friends. She remembered the dancing with him, and she remembered the feeling of his lips on hers. And now Kagome remembered that she was in love with him. Some way, somehow, she'd fallen in love with him.

Before they could approach the gate, however, a cold voice rang out and stopped them in their tracks.

"I'm impressed you made it this far."

Slowly, Kagome pivoted on her heel and turned to face the speaker, but not before noticing the way both Sango and Miroku tensed, the older girl's face paling slightly.

A strange man sat before them, at least Kagome thought it was a man. She couldn't really tell because of the white baboon pelt he wore that covered his entire body and part of his face. He seemed familiar… and then she realised it.

"You're the one who destroyed the dream bubble!" she gasped, a finger pointed accusingly in his direction. Her friend's gave her a questioning look, but the stranger's cruel laughter brought their attention back to him.

"You look an awful lot like someone I used to know," he said, a smirk upon his face. "Maybe that's why Inuyasha thinks he's in love with you. He was in love with her before."

That stung. Kagome stumbled back, feeling as though someone had plunged a dagger into her chest and dragged it downward. A cold feeling spread across her body. That's why Inuyasha kissed her? Because she looked like someone he used to be in love with? "No," she whispered, face pale.

"Kikyo has nothing to do with this," said Miroku, his good hand hovering over the other, as though he'd use it. The man simply laughed again.

"Ah, the monk. How's your hand doing? Better, I hope?"

Miroku scowled at the man's mocking tone. To Kagome's surprise, Sango stepped in front of him, as though to protect him.

"How cute," taunted the stranger. "The slayer is protecting the monk. You didn't do a very good job protecting your family, did you?"

The air suddenly shifted, swirling around the small group and picking up dirt. Kagome shielded her eyes from the flying dust until it cleared, when a new voice exploded into the small clearing.

"Naraku!"

Kagome looked up, trembling slightly when she saw who it was. "Inuyasha…"

His amber gaze shifted to her, and she saw him mouth her name in response. The man, or demon as she recalled from Miroku's earlier lesson, interrupted them.

"You have something I want, Inuyasha."

The half-demon snarled. "This ends today."

_**x **Crimson and clover over and over **x** _

_

* * *

_A/N: Yes, I know it's a short chapter. Please don't hurt me. ; As it is nearing the end of the movie, I need to keep adding filler. I want to make this story at least eleven chapters (including prologue and epilogue), but it's getting kind of hard to keep elaborating. I'll try my best, though. And I was trying something different with this chapter, in reference to the song lyrics. Can I help it if I'm in love with that song? 

Reviews! You don't know how much they mean to me. :)


End file.
